Surgical wires are utilized to connect a variety of bone sections in the course of surgical procedures. For example, surgical wires are used in craniotomies wherein a portion of the skull, called a skull flap, is completely removed from the skull to allow access to the brain. The skull flap is secured to the skull after the operation is completed using surgical wire which is threaded through several pairs of drilled holes, one on each side of each saw cut that formed the skull flap. Ends of the wire are twisted together and the excess wire is cut off. The twisted together wire ends are then stuffed into an enlarged or countersunk opening formed in one of the drilled holes. Thus, the wire connection does not penetrate the skin after the skin is replaced over the skull flap.
Initially, the removal of the skull flap begins by drilling a set of holes, usually four holes, called burr holes, at spaced locations, defining the corners of the skull flap. Each pair of adjacent holes are utilized to define the ends of a saw cut. Where four burr holes are utilized, four saw cuts connecting the holes are utilized to remove the skull flap from the rest of the skull.
Since the burr holes tend to be of a substantial diameter, it is necessary to cover these holes at the conclusion of the operation. This is normally done using a plate which is positioned over each burr hole. The plates are secured to the skull using a plurality of threaded fasteners distributed around the periphery of the plate.
While all these techniques have been utilized for a number of years without substantial variation, these techniques have some disadvantages. The use of wire sections whose ends are then wrapped together to create the connection tends to be time consuming. In all surgical operations it is desirable to complete the operation as quickly as possible to reduce cost and, more importantly, to minimize the amount of time that the internal tissues are exposed to the atmosphere.
Similarly, the use of burr hole covering plates with threaded fasteners tends to be time consuming and expensive. In addition, the surgical facility may need to have an inventory of such plates and fasteners to accommodate a variety of different situations. This adds to overhead and ultimately to patient expense.
It would be desirable to have an equally effective technique for securing bone portions to other bone portions which is easier, quicker and more economical than existing techniques.